Nekhbet

Jane is definitely worth it! Come on she just got herself a Malinois pup so we know she has impeccable taste :laugh: let us know how you go

depends on the dog and the capability of the handler. I think depending on the reason for lack of loose lead walking an e-collar would probably not be the best thing for the dog in a lot of circumstances, but it could be. A session with a good trainer is the best place to start when you have an idea like this because then at least you can transfer the skill over to other things with the e-collar. If you have the stim on low with the good quality collars its not zapping the life out of the dog, and for a person who is not physically strong against a large, out of control dog it can work very well when coupled with focus work and strong reinforcement.

Why would you want to go to a school that limits what equipment can be used? You think a school cannot be motivational if they use correction chains? This is the misconception. I'm currently about to open my own school and I welcome whatever equipment works for your dog and handling capability. It's not yank and crank but corrections are only to be used on dogs that require them and motivation is always going to be the predominant method to achieve goals. You should look for trainers who are genuinely interested in what their doing, that they are firm but fair and have time to listen. They should enforce the school rules and ensure everyone's safety at the school as well. If the dogs being trained are happy, the handlers are happy and the methods are not just shutting the dogs down then you're in for a good thing :)

We're going to make the tyre jump out of suspended Ag pipe as it comes with a connector, so if the dog clips it the loop will open and not bring the jump down with the dog. The A frame is currently drying lol it's out of 25mm box steel (2mm thick) 12mm ply screwed onto that and we've laid just under 10kg of wet render all over it as grip. We just have to coat it and it's done. May not be that heavy we made a provision for a lot more render to go on it but I think it will still be over 50kg total. Also has a huge tubular hinge joint at the top so it can be pulled into two panels for moving about. The jumps I just made from PVC pipe, I'll take a photo for you, but basically just needed tees and end caps cut in half for the jump cups, screwed and glued so they didnt rotate. Still have to make a walkover ... and we got really jack of a lot of screws/drill bits lol I can tell you AVOID ZENITH BRAND METAL SELF TAPPERS ... OH threw them at the wall ... the darn things just ground down O_o

they need to learn to be clean, no way of doing that if the first sign of drippies they have pants put on them. But then it's personal choice I suppose. I'd never use them and all our bitches were meticulous cleaners.

Definitely go for Jane too if she's more accessible. If you don't have time for group classes then you are better off with a good quality consultation from someone like Jane or Craig, then stick to the training and management plan they will make for you. Group classes really only work if you stick to them as you don't get as much time or one on one attention, and they're not really primarily designed for behavioral problems.

http://www.dogschool.com.au/ get yourself at least one lesson, if he's too far get Craig to recommend someone close to you. Ouch means nothing to a rottweiler he needs firm leadership and to learn that snapping is an absolute no no. You cannot own a rottie and just get away with puppy preschool, he's becoming an adult now and needs to be treated like one.

we're in the process of DIY ... an A frame, walk over, jumps we already made from PVC pipe if you want plans just let me know ... I must warn you the A frame is going to weigh about 90kg when done lol

I have a dogue de bordeaux and have never had a problem with his wrinkles. They get dirt trapped in there but because he's on a decent diet I dont find infections at all. High grain and cheap diets seem to be the perpetrators

They don't leak like taps. They groom as much as they need, I even hear them wake up and clean if the feeling takes them ;) If you're worried when they're asleep just put them in a crate. Saying that if they're always used to bitch pants they probably will be messy for a while as they get used to the fact they're meant to do their own routine maintenance

nuh uh Oolong started this trend first ...

oh you should see Skoota's face is people look and don't touch ... he puts on his pathetic dogue face and then the closer they get, he sloooooooooooowly drops down and rolls over. If they try and leave he'll hug their leg yes he suckers people in quite well with his sad face

wow staff n toller she looks absolutely incredible! I wish more people could realise thats what a healthy coat looks like especially on SBTs

you use those? I find them absolutely useless and also the dogs can't exhibit normal cleaning behaviors of their privates. I have two bitches in heat right now and there is no mess, no smell. I think leave them be and they'll learn to clean themselves properly.

A lot of people feel the way you do because we're so used to over feeding ... look at the size of your dogs and visualise the size of their stomachs ... imagine how much say a scant cupped handful of food would fill up. And dogs are HUGE over eaters! My rottie ate 5kg of dry food one day (he snuck into the tub the sod) and jet despite being roughly the size of blimp, he was begging for food desperately. Don't let your heart rule your head ;)

I wouldn't put it past the cranky buggers ... mine chased an american bulldog after it tried to climb into the clamshell pool his royal highness was lounging in on a hot day at dog club :laugh:

I only have the modern PDF format I got off the site basically I was thinking of, from this description - 100mm 150mm 200mm and 250mm ranging in width to be telescopic. So the 4 different heights would be the peak of the angle? And is a 45 degree angle too much? I just want it as an all rounder for dog school

yup, its because pretty much everything except the indigestible minerals have been absorbed :) perfectly normal

My point was about harm prevention. If you know you have a reactive dog, make allowances for it (muzzle if it's a snapper, 'leave me alone' shirt etc) because the dog and owner will have more enjoyment from being out and about as well, especially if people actively see it is a dog that doesnt want random touching. We can't stop all people, but at the same time if you knowingly have a sore, sick, reactive or frightened dog it's your responsibility to ensure it's own safety and other people's as well. I'm saying it works both ways.

My point was we don't live in a perfect world where everyone who wants a pat will automatically be polite and ask you. So we have to make a little provision for what could happen. You just can't fix stupid sometimes :laugh: I had a bloke kick my malinois once as he walked past ... it was totally random ... I wouldn't of blamed her for reacting but she didn't. It was the Owner who was the aggressive one that day eta I agree with Greytmate

It's simple. Dog can only get attention from a stranger on your command, which in turn will remove the expectation and searching behavior. Meanwhile you praise him for getting attention from you. This way the 'reward' of getting attention from a stranger is still linked back to your authority. My Dogue is a total attention hog ... it takes us at least an hour and a half to walk through the market because everyone wants a pat. He loves it, everyone gets Dogue cuddles and it's joy all round. Why not.

At the same time people have a right to be out in public without fear of being bitten. You can't control people, the human machine has a mind of its own really so you have to idiot proof your dog. If a child does run up to a dog your holding and gets bitten by your dog, I would still say why did your dog not wear a muzzle if it is that reactive. Society is give and take. There also seems to be this snobbish sentiment on this forum that your dogs are not to be touched by anyone at all. Did we all learn under the same security trainer I had privvy to listen too way back when ... I agree people should always ask first before getting a pat but anti social animals should be marked clearly to prevent an accident, and to show they too can be responsibly socialised out and about.

there is a difference between controlled training and simply an out of control train hurtling down the track ... you know it's only going to end in disaster.

A dog shouldn't be that insecure it has to piss on everything the new dog has brought in. That is a lack of structure and understanding between original dog and owner if it happens to this degree. I think you're just worrying too much about it. Oscar loves to mark because it's within his nature to do it. When they 'learn' it from other dogs, it's not a simply copy behavior, they learn to compete hence the marking begins. Keep Oscar and the pup in crates while inside and you can't supervise. If you see Oscar sniffing about tell him to go outside. Despite the amount of transient/babysat dogs that have come through my place, my house isn't covered in wee. We had a slight dominance issue when the Rottweiler was PTS and the Dogue decided to put one up on OH and mark in the hallway but we solved that quick smart.